Plenty of changes ahead for notorious highway

LODI - Traffic fatalities along Highway 12 have drawn scrutiny, then change, to the roadway stretching west from Lodi across the Delta.

Zachary K. Johnson

LODI - Traffic fatalities along Highway 12 have drawn scrutiny, then change, to the roadway stretching west from Lodi across the Delta.

New laws and patrols beefed up enforcement, and minor road improvements are making way to more significant changes. Safety has improved since a spike in road deaths in early 2007, but a head-on collision earlier this month that killed one and injured two served as a stark reminder why the road has earned the nickname "Blood Alley."

But the road is more than a cautionary tale for drivers on rural highways. It is a well-used transportation corridor for commuters, Delta fun seekers and big rigs that are expected to grow in number as the region's population climbs over the next 25 years.

So a comprehensive study has begun to plan a strategy for the future of the important - yet sometimes dangerous - highway.

Highway 12 stretches 53 miles between Interstate 5 in Lodi and Highway 26 in Napa County. In between, it passes through four counties, three state transportation districts, two major interstates, two rail lines and three Delta bridges.

Planners said that through the process, it could be decided to expand two-lane stretches of road to four-lane thoroughfares or to find some kind of middle ground, such as adding passing lanes or turnouts.

The process is well under way, and the planners, engineers and officials are holding a meeting Tuesday in Lodi to update the public while hearing back from those who drive the roadway.

"They know the ins and outs of it," said Wil Ridder, senior regional planner for the San Joaquin County Council of Governments, one of the state and regional transportation agencies involved with the efforts. "They know it better than anyone."

So far, the process has produced reports detailing the conditions of the road and the potential growth in use it will see in 2035. By then, traffic on the road is expected to triple in some segments while doubling in most others, according to the report prepared by Atkins, a global engineering consulting firm. And while the number of trucks using the road won't climb as fast as the number of cars, big rigs are expected to grow from 500 per day to 1,300 per day during the next quarter century.

All the increased traffic, along with more boaters causing delays at Delta bridges, will add 30 minutes to the trip from I-5 to I-80, making it 1 hour and 23 minutes during peak travel times.

A long-term plan starts with a baseline set by some nearer-term projects, though construction has yet to begin.

Two of the projects are in San Joaquin County. One is roughly $25 million in improvements from Potato Slough Bridge to I-5. Among other things, it would install left-turn pockets and acceleration lanes for vehicles entering the highway. Cameras would also be used to monitor traffic conditions and provide real-time information on new electronic signs along Highway 12.

A roughly $50 million project would add shoulders to the road and a permanent concrete barrier in the median along the four-and-a-half mile stretch from Mokelumne River to the Potato Slough bridges. The primary aim of the project is safety, Ridder said.

"Once you put in the barrier, you eliminate those head-on incidents," he said. "They go away."

That project could be completed by 2014, but it depends on money being available from the state, said Kevin Sheridan, California highway project manager for the Council of Governments. But Caltrans has recognized the importance of the project and is supporting it, he said.

On the enforcement side, Highway 12 is still a double-fine zone, a distinction given by legislation from then-Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, who is now a state senator.

Safety improvements have saved lives along the highway, she said in a statement provided by her office. "Soon, we'll be able to carry out a comprehensive regional plan to improve safety along this transportation corridor, thanks to the dedicated efforts of Caltrans, local government and transportation officials, and all other stakeholders who are working across county lines to complete this study."